Marana Mrudangam
| Marana Mrudangam | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | A. Kodandarami Reddy |
| Produced by | K. S. Rama Rao |
| Written by |
Yandamoori Veerendranath (novel) Sainath Thotapalli (movie adaptation) |
| Starring |
Chiranjeevi Radha Suhasini Mani Ratnam |
| Music by | Ilayaraja |
Production company |
Creative Commercials |
Release dates | 4 August 1988 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
Marana Mrudangam (Telugu: మరణ మృదంగం, English: Death Harmony) 1988 Telugu, Action Crime film, produced by K. S. Rama Rao on Creative Commercials banner and directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy. Starring Chiranjeevi, Radha, Suhasini, K. Naga Babu in the lead roles and music composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The film is based on Yandamuri Veerendranath's novel of the same name.
Plot
Jaani (Chiranjeevi) runs a small-time casino with his partner Bhillu (Nagendra Babu). One day he helps two women Anusha (Radha) and Uthpala (Suhasini), stuck with their broken car, and gives them a drive. Utpala succeeds in an interview by remembering Jaani's answer and gets a job as a nurse in a hospital. Jaani and his partner also help Anusha to get a job by blocking her competitor.
One day, Bhillu discovers cocaine in an egg in his kitchen and they start investigating the source of this egg. They discover this to be from Pogaku Subbarao (Gollapudi)'s store. This unfolds the links between a seeming businessman, Pogaku Subbarao, and an underworld Don, Vasanth Dada (Suresh Oberoi). They also offer jobs to the unemployed and use them to sell their body parts. Utpala's unemployed brother Sharma (Prasad Babu) gets into their trap and leaves home. Utpala reaches Jaani for help to talk to her brother. Jaani discovers that the phone number given to contact her brother is in the same city and starts exploring into this. Meanwhile, Anusha lodges a complaint against Pogaku Subbarao and his nephew, Sudhakar about their dark secrets.
Salim (Ranjeet), a left hand of Suresh Oberoi, disguises himself as a police and asks Anusha to come with him for inquiry. When he attempts a rape, Jaani saves her. They fall in love and start exploring Vasanth Dada's kingdom. They discover that Sharma escaped from Vasanth Dada's den and left a letter with Utpala, explaining every activity in the underworld. Sharma, the lone witness of the underworld, is killed in the hospital by Salim. When Jaani and Anusha attack Vasanth Dada, they're captured and left in a desert as prey for vultures. Using a magnifying glass, dropped by Pogaku Subbarao, they free themselves and attack Vasanth Daada.
In the final clash, Jaani & Bhillu collapses entire Vasanth Dada's dynasty. Jaani marries Anusha and is shown traveling with kid.
Cast
- Chiranjeevi as Janardhan/Johny
- Radha as Anusha
- Suhasini as Uthpala
- K. Nagababu as Bhillu
- Satyanarayana
- Suresh Oberoi as Vasant Dada
- Ranjeet as Saleem Shankar
- Gollapudi Maruthi Rao as Rama Subba Rao
- Gummadi
- Sudhakar
- Pradeep Shakthi
- Ranganath
- Sakshi Ranga Rao
- Prasad Babu as Sharma
Soundtrack
The music for the movie was composed by the maestro Ilaiyaraaja.
- "Godave Godavama": S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra
- "Jungili Jima": S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Durga
- "Karigipoyaanu": S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela
- "Kottandi Tittandi": S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra
- "Sarigama Padanisa": S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra
Box office and trivia
- The movie received average success for the combination of Chiranjeevi, A. Kodandarami Reddy, K.S. Rama Rao, Ilayaraja, and Yandamuri.
- This film is based on the celebrated novel by Yandamuri Veerendranath Marana Mrudangam. Being a long novel, it had to be trimmed, without losing the essence. Veerendranath himself did it in the screenplay, by establishing relationships between the characters. However, many details to boost the heroism were added to the screenplay, to ensure the commercial success of the movie.